


Spring is for the Bees

by Rosedrop



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Not Beta Read, and a bee get's involved, literally just these two chilling together for a bit, written while a bit high on wisdom teeth meds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23136841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosedrop/pseuds/Rosedrop
Summary: In the middle of one if their many journeys, Geralt and Jaskier take a moment to just stop and relax, and Geralt is happy to find that there's always something new for him to learn about his Bard. Enjoy some fluff!Alternatively known as, how many different ways can I come up with to describe a bee in a single story.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 5
Kudos: 130





	Spring is for the Bees

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my dears, it's been, what, eight years since I've written something? So here's a little bit of fluff to get me back in the groove of things. And what better way to do that then with some Geraskier and a curious little bee?

If there was one fact of life that Geralt had never truly been able to grasp until Jaskier had started walking alongside him all those years ago, it was how the average person could have all of these smaller habits and peculiarities that would never be brought up or explained until the most random of moments. And even after almost spending a decade out on the Path together, this was still especially true of both himself and Jaskier.

One such moment came about a spring afternoon, as the rain that had been steadfastly following them the past week had finally begun to subside, with the barest hint of sunlight peeking through the clouds and brightening up the landscape quite nicely. In a rare moment of feeling just a bit at ease (and being ready for an excuse to cast his water-clogged cloak aside), Geralt had decided to pull Roach off the road and give her a few minutes to nibble on the grass, with him and Jaskier settling under a nearby grove of trees as they shuffled through their bags to get a better look at what would need replenishing or replacing soon.

In a series of motions that had become downright domestic over their many weeks and months of travel, Geralt had settled down to give his blades a thorough one-over to ensure the excess rain hadn’t caused any major harm while Jaskier, after similarly checking his lute and it’s case over, set about taking care of the various rips and tears his travel jacket had accumulated (Geralt had finally, finally thrust the bit of dark blue leather into Jaskier’s hands while they’d stopped at a local market a while back after hearing him complain about yet another doublet being ruined thanks to the elements, and between the sparkle in his eyes and the look of surprise on his face even Geralt had had a hard time denying the small smile he felt tug at his face whenever he saw the Bard wearing the jacket). 

With Jaskier’s attention being taken up by attempting thread a rather uncooperative needle, Geralt gave himself a moment to turn his face back towards the fields surrounding them, over to where Roach was happily grazing away. He felt that tug again, the tug he often felt in Jaskier’s company to let himself be at peace for a moment, to let his mouth lift up and ease some of the tension off his shoulders. It was a feeling he found himself experiencing more and more these days, thanks to a rather constructive night they’d shared at an inn almost a year ago that had led to Jaskier joining Geralt on Roach’s saddle the next morning and to a much louder night by the fire. Now, leaning against an old tree with no monsters or villagers breathing down their necks or downpours beating at their backs, Geralt of Rivia could almost say that he was finding himself to be at peace.

Well, that is, until a bit of movement caught his eye, and he spotted a familiar looking bit of black and yellow fuzz making its way over to their little tree grove, and a frown quickly settled back onto his face.

Bees. Off all the creatures in the world, bees and wasps weren’t exactly a Witcher’s best friend, as despite their stings being little more than like tapping a pin with your finger to such hardened skin, having one suddenly go buzzing by your ear was enough to make anyone jump. Add in a Witcher’s sensitive hearing and, in Geralt’s case, you had one of the few things that could still cause his skin to crawl and give him the urge to jump right out of his seat. 

In fact, it was thanks to a far-too curious bee exploring their camp one night that had led to Geralt almost spilling a full bowl of rabbit stew all over himself and the fire, and Jaskier almost being thrown into the river for being unable to stop laughing. It took Geralt having to threaten to use his best doublet to wash Roach to finally get the Bard out of his giggling fit, but after a quick explanation that sounded like Geralt would much prefer being stung then admitting anything resembling a weakness, Jaskier had assured his companion that, while he was a bit surprised at his animosity towards a tiny little bee of all things, he wouldn’t make too much of a deal out of it, and they’d since moved on from the admittedly funny moment. Of course, Jaskier would still occasionally throw in a rather sly comment whenever they passed a hive if he was feeling particularly cheeky, but once Geralt had discovered Jaskier’s own disdain for locusts, grasshoppers, and other bugs of a similar design, the bard decided it was time to seek out some newer material for his jests. 

This time however, the fat little fellow seemed much more interested in the patch of wildflowers Jaskier was seated by, and was inching closer and closer to the bard as they made their way from blossom to blossom. Jaskier was completely oblivious to the movement, humming one of his newer tunes under his breath as he now went about fixing a tear on the jacket’s sleeve, and continued to be oblivious as the bee finally made its way onto his leg and settled over one of the many embroidered flowers along his thigh. Geralt had long since abandoned the dagger he still had settled in his lap, and was now watching as the insect began the slow ascent up Jaskier leg, onto his shirt and up his torso, before arriving onto the Bard’s shirt collar and remaining there for the time being. 

Predicting the utter Hell that could come about if the bee actually did crawl onto Jaskier neck (Gods help them both if Jaskier spooked it to the point of stinging), Geralt pushed his bag aside and leaned over to deliver a hard flick onto his boot. It wasn’t enough to mess up his stitching, but it was enough to jolt Jaskier out of his tune and turn his head to raise a ‘Did you really just do that?’ eyebrow at his companion before saying, “Any reason you’ve decided to test the leather quality of my boot just now?”

The eyeroll Geralt gave his companion’s response felt almost involuntary at this point, before just barely nodding his head towards his neck and answering, “You’ve got a friend who’s about to make its home under your shirt, if you’d stop all that noise your making for a moment.” 

“That noise, my dear, is what’s going to get you a damn-well needed bath at the next inn, and me enough ale to forget about the amount of mud in our laundry bag right now.” Only getting a curt “Hmm” in response from the Witcher, Jaskier angled his neck to try and see what he was referring to, but to Geralt surprise instead of yelping at the sight of the bee or trying to swipe it away like he’d done with other bugs, Jaskier actually smiled down at the furry thing and sit his needle down in his lap to carefully bring his hand up. Sticking his index finger out as if it were a perch, he gently tapped the bee’s behind to get it to move to the edge of his collar, before just gently placing it right where it’s front legs were. He leaned his head down, whispering something that to Geralt sounded suspiciously like, “Come my dear, hop up now,” and to his surprise the bee instantly crawled it way onto the bard’s finger, not an ounce of annoyance or anger in its yellow and black-striped body.

“I’ve mentioned my mother’s affinity for beekeeping before, correct?” Geralt gave a gentle ‘Hmm’ Jaskier had come to know a shorthand for yes before continuing, though his eyes were stuck on the bee now perched on his Bard’s finger. Given a gentle but still very playful grin, Jaskier brought up his other index finger to gently rub the top of the bee’s abdomen before continuing, “Well, I daresay she managed to pass down quite a bit of that love to me before I headed off to Oxenfurt, helping her maintain the hives and collect the honey and what-not. Wasn’t always easy, I still remember the one that decided to crawl its way up into my armpit, nearly knocked the whole hive over when it got scared enough to sting, but since then my mothers’ taught me enough tricks to at least get over that particular fear, and a few other bits to boot.”

Indeed, Jaskier had on occasion brought up his life with his mother to Geralt, before the Bard had made his way over to Oxenfurt. They'd left his father's home when he'd been about four, and after a rather disastrous attempt to make a living herding goats Lilianna had gone for beekeeping instead. Nowadays she was the keeper of a pretty popular honey and wax stall in her village's marketplace, and occasionally she found ways to send some of her wares over to her wayward son, especially when allergy season was just around the corner. 

He lifted his finger up near his now, and whispered something else to the bee, something so low even Geralt could barely catch it, but the bee must’ve agreed with whatever he said as they slowly picked themselves off of Jaskier’s finger and headed back off into the day, a lazily bobbing bit of fuzz flying off into the surrounding sea of green. Thankfully since it was still just one bee the buzzing wasn’t loud enough to be grating on Geralt’s hearing, but he still just barely angled his head away from that particular spot as it seemed the bee had discovered a very intriguing set of buttercups and it was very intent on sharing this information with the world. Jaskier couldn’t help but gently chuckle at both of them as turned to pick up his sewing once again.

“Of all the things I’d imagine would set us apart my dear, our attitudes towards the insect populace was certainly not the highest on that list.” He said with another chuckle, Jaskier had gotten quite good at reading Geralt’s body language over the years (often the only type of language the Witcher would consistently use), and was especially skilled in knowing when and where he could jab at his lover’s peculiarities. 

Geralt, for his part, must’ve been truly relaxed now, or at least his equivalent to such as feeling, as he answered with just a hint of teasing in his tone, “At least my unease comes from one that can do some harm to a human, you on the other hand spy a single grasshopper near the fire and ask to move camp.”

“Well you try catching a good night’s sleep with those beady black eyes staring you down the entire time! Not exactly the most comforting of feelings when you’re out in the middle of the damn woods.”

“You do realize their eyes are practically the same, right?”

“It’s the not just the eyes, Geralt, it’s the intent behind them! A bee just wants to go about his business, ensure his hive is doing alright, meanwhile a damn locust wouldn’t think twice about stripping you to your bones if it had the chance, little bastards that they are.”

“Hmm, now why can’t you have this same kind of survival instinct when I tell you to stay the fuck away from whatever it is I’m hunting?”

“Oh Gods, I am not arguing this one with you again. One, either I come along or you find a way to become a better storyteller beyond two damn sentences, and two, if you ever do find yourself contracted to take care of some man-sized locusts terrorizing a farm, do be assured that I’ll be happily taking refuge about four villages over, with the best bottle of wine an evening of performing can afford me.”

“As opposed to a fucking Kikimora, or pack of ghouls?” Now there was no denying the smile slowly spreading itself across Geralt’s face as he watches Jaskier become more and more animated with his movements, almost knocking his jacket off his lap as he tries to use his hands to get his point across. It’s one of the few positives he found came with conversations nowadays, seeing Jaskier come alive with just the littlest of ribbing. 

“You try writing a ballad worthy of traveling across this great continent about a fucking bug, while I stick to the stuff that will actually help get us a bed for the night.”

“Yes well, if it’s a bed you want then you better hurry the fuck up, we’ve still got at least four more hours before we even hit the next set of farms,” Geralt says, now turning his attention back towards getting the rest of his blades and cleaning equipment put back into its bag. Jaskier tsked, but followed along with putting his own supplies away and standing up to get one more good stretch in. Taking a moment to breath had been nice, but the allure of an actual bed and food consisting of anything other than whatever animal they managed to scourge out of the woods was more than enough to get him back on his feet. Finally slinging his lute case back over his shoulder, he leaned down to leave a quick peck on his Witcher’s cheek before making his way back over to where Roach was standing.

Once again he found himself rolling his eyes, but with the ghost of a smile still on his face Geralt didn’t waste any time in catching up to his partner, ready to continue their journey together once more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for checking this out, I really appreciate any and all comments, especially those that are constructive since it's been so long since I've done something like this. Also, support your local bee populations, they're a cool bunch of little dudes that do a whole lot of good for the world.
> 
> Also, feel free to check out my tumblr @rosedropper


End file.
